Rainforests

Collin Shiff

Rainforests

Collin Shiff

Rainforests

Rain forests are found in South America, the United Kingdom, Norway, Southern Australia, and many more places. Rain forests also have some very distinct characteristics, such as the fact that it is composed of many layers. There is almost no life or light on the forest floor. The only thing on it is the thin layer of decaying leaves and soil.

Climate and Weather

For a rain forest to be considered a rain forest, it has to get an average of 50-260 inches of rain a year. Also, a rain forest's temperature rarely gets above 98 degrees Fahrenheit, and it rarely goes below 68 degrees Fahrenheit.

Harpy Eagle

The Harpy Eagle is one of the largest specimen of the eagle species, and it has dark gray feathers on its crown, accompanied by white feathers on its underside.

Jaguar

Some jaguars are found in Mexico, South America, and Central America, and they can grow up to 8 feet in length. They are carnivorous, and eat smaller prey.

Lemur

Lemurs are omnivorous creatures that live on the island of Madagascar, and the Comoros island. They eat insects, leaves, and fruit. They are about two feet long, without their tail, but with it, they can double their length! This can help them stay balanced in trees.

Chimpanzee

Chimpanzees are the closest relatives to humans, and like us, they have an omnivorous diet. They can be found in many places in Africa, such as Sierra Leone, Angola, Tanzania,and Congo. Their diet mainly consists of seeds, bark, leaves, small insects, and bugs

Orangutans

An orangutan is an omnivorous creature that can be found in Borneo, and Sumatra. It's main diet consists of leaves, tree bark, and certain insects. Orangutans live in trees, mostly in rain forests, but also reside in tall forest trees also.

Orchids

Known for their beauty, orchids are the largest family of plants in the world. The species varies greatly in weight and size with some petals getting as long as 30 inches, and flowers growing up to 14 feet long. They also come in every color, except black. They grow on rocks, in the soil, underground and on other plants and trees, all while relying on certain insects or birds for pollination.

Poinsetta

The poinsettia is mostly seen around Christmastime in the United States. This beautiful plant actually grows in the rainforest in the form of a bush or tree. One would think the colorful part of the plant is the petals, but they are actually the leaves. The flowers are the small, yellow stalks in the middle of the leaves. The poinsettia comes in red, white, pink and bicolor.

Cacao Tree

The cacao tree is an evergreen, which grows a pod containing 20 to 60 reddish-brown cocoa beans. When harvested, it takes anywhere from seven to 14 pods to produce one pound of dry cocoa beans. It’s important for cacao to be harvested sustainably, since chocolate is in very high demand.

Heliconia

This colorful plant has 40 different species with paddle-shaped leaves that are part of the banana family. In addition to being called heliconia, it is also referred to as lobster claws or parrot flowers. The plant structure has “bracts,” which is a colorful leaf that comes in pink, orange, yellow, green, purple or red. Bracts actually hide the plant’s flowers tucked inside of them, protecting the nectar so only certain birds, like the hummingbird, can reach it. Butterflies also enjoy the sweet nectar.

Bromeliad

Bromeliads contain more than 2,700 species that grow on the ground, on rocks and on other plants and rocks. These beautiful plants have bright colored flowers ranging from reds to oranges to purples and to blues. Bromeliads are even sometimes homes for tree frogs, snails and salamanders where they’ll stay for their entire lives.

Landforms

Rain forests have mountains, valleys, flood plains, streams, rivers, and a little bit of wetlands. It also contains high and lowlands, beaches, as well as some karsts.

Human impact

Humans are damaging the rain forests by cutting down trees and burning down forests.